All Things Bikes and Tacos! (...and every vehicle imaginable)

I rode Pisgah NC a few years back. That was a great time. Spent 3 days there riding. Have you ridden there?

 

If you do decide to do it, lemme know! I'll gladly be your trail guide. Ridden it every year since I moved to Utah.

If you arrive before mid-july, you'll be doing the half enchilada since Burro Pass won't have melted off yet. But it is worth it regardless! Such a great trail! In all honesty, I wouldn't say the TWE is particularly hard, but it's def an endurance exercise. Lower half makes 17ish miles of essentially continuous rock gardens. The upper half adds almost as many miles and some high elevation cardio to boot! You'll appreciate the beer when you finish!

 

Pisgah is the source for most of my Zen these days. Now that I live in NC, I try to head out there a few times a year, and I'm currently shopping for property in the Brevard area for a cabin. I also organized a TacomaWorld camping+riding trip out there a few months ago, so some of us met and tore up the trails for a few days. Good times!

I'm still getting to know the Pisgah trails, but exploring that area is my primary riding goal for the next few years. Let me know if you ever head out there again. Would be glad to join you!

 

I got a question about dropper posts: My Jeffsy came with a dropper that's kind of a pain in the ass, as it gets stuck and in order to get it to go down you have to sit on it and sometimes bounce on it to get it to come back up. In videos I've seen droppers that go up and down with the flick of a switch. What is it that I am looking for in a dropper? Anyone have experience with https://www.pnwcomponents.com/collections/seat-posts? I know a lot of people on here are OneUp fans, how does PNW compare? I'd like to support a local company, plus they have a couple on sale right now.

 

Is it hydraulic or air? I'm only familiar with Specialized Command posts, which are air. Cable tension was also my biggest problem. Not that it was a big problem, but if it wasn't set properly the post wouldn't work properly. If yours is air it sounds like you might not have enough cable pull to actuate it properly, assuming you have the right air pressure. If it's hydraulic, I'm not much help to you.

 

I haven’t ridden The Whole Enchilada, but I rode the lower half (Porcupine Rim from water tanks down to the river and back into town). In 1990. On a fully rigid bike. With cantilever brakes and tubed tires and of course, no dropper. Wearing hiking boots and Lycra shorts, ‘cause that’s what we did in 1990.

I was in Moab late April this year and drove by the top of TWE and there was quite a bit of snow. I was there a few years ago in late July and the temps made riding impossible, for me at least, at the town elevation. If you go, I highly recommend Rim Tours for shuttling or even guiding. We’ve used them for two multi-day tours (White Rim and North Rim of GC) and they are wonderful, based in Moab and most guides are long-time locals. No affiliation.

 

Either way, if it’s reluctant to go up or down, that’s a sign of not enough cable pull (ie too much slack or some other mechanical issue). Hydraulics or pneumatics come into play if it sags or droops under load, though that could also be too much cable tension. There should be a barrel adjuster on the copper cable. Turn it “out” (CW) to reduce slack.

 

Def gotta grab the early shuttle to make it to town before the oven pre-heats. I usually go the first week of May, and it's pretty common to be high 30s at Kokopelli/Jimmy Keen, and high 80s low 90s in town when we get back to the truck.

 

I rode it in September, 25 at the top, 80 at the bottom.

I took the first shuttle. I think it left @ 7:30?

 

Thanks for all the replies fellas. I was thinking Sept timeframe before I posted. You guys pretty much confirmed my thoughts. Now I just gotta make it happen.

 

Mid September was perfect

 

We drove out from PA too did some other things too. What part of Pennsylvania are you from? I’m in Pittsburgh

 

That seems to be the consensus. September it is! Now to figure out if it will happen in 2020 or 2021...

 

If you drive out, stop at Keystone! It was sooooooo much fun!

 

I live just outside Scranton. I'd like to do a 2 week trip, see a bunch of other stuff while I'm out that way. I've been to Utah several times for work but could never find time to explore. The girlfriend and I did a lot of traveling this past year, a trip to Vegas, South Carolina, and finished in October with a trip to Italy. I'd probably leave her out of a Moab trip though.

 

try it with a loose seat post clamp to see if you get the same behavior, i've seen over tightened bolts causing stiction in droppers.

 

If you want the WHOLE Enchilada, from Burro pass down, there are ZERO guarantees as to when it'll be 'perfect'. Moab is a desert, with desert temps in the daytime and nighttime. That means even in September you can hit the 100s in the daytime, or even as low as 20s at night. The only month I would almost guarantee no snow is August (it has happened). And if it snows even a little, it's shut down at the upper elevations. As for the lower section (Porcupine), well you're almost guaranteed that you'll hit the heat in any other month than October.
Whole Enchilada is tricky with timing sometimes. I've ridden it from July to end of October and hit both shitty and perfect conditions. I never, ever, go in July.
This year the last ride was at the end of October, with a 22* start at the top, and a 65* finish. That 40ish* range of temps is totally normal there.

Definitely not trying to dissuade you, but to prepare. It's physically demanding, it's really technical in places (but all walkable), and taxing on your bike. Most people don't make it out their first time without at least one fall and a mechanical. Time spent ranges from 2.5 - 7 hours. I usually spend around 4 hours, with breaks, play time, photos, etc.

Best time to go? Watch the weather and be flexible in your planning. There's TONS of other awesome rides in the area, so if a freak storm hits in Sep. you can play until the melt-off eventually happens and the shuttles go to the top.

Anyone can hit me up with questions if you still have 'em. Been going to Moab to ride bikes for 15+ years.

Oneup. They're $150 right now.

 

That type of flexibility is not necessarily possible when I have to spend $1000 and travel across the entire country to visit for 2-3 days, and I need to book the flights several months ahead of time. Simply watching the weather and adjusting accordingly isn't really an option in situations like that. I'm thinking late May or early September, but I really have no idea which is better, or when it's almost guaranteed TWE will be open from top to bottom.

 

This is very true. It’s very unforgiving and hard on your body and gear. Lots of ledges and plenty of must make lines. I underestimated it due to its publicity. It is a tough run with potential major consequences at times.

 

Well if it snows and you can't hit the TWE, just go party in Fruita!